


Another Evening on Voyager

by Donald King (PK_preservation_project)



Series: On Voyager [1]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 16:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14024130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PK_preservation_project/pseuds/Donald%20King
Summary: Harry and Tom confess their feelings and fall in love, sparking bets on how soon it will be before the wedding.  It's quite tame.Originally posted 8 Sep 1998





	Another Evening on Voyager

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Leigh, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [P/K All the Way](https://fanlore.org/wiki/P/K_All_the_Way) and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [P/K All the Way’s collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/pkalltheway/profile).
> 
> ====
> 
> Disclaimer: Paramount owns Tom, Harry, and all their friends. I'm just making a few suggestions for next season.
> 
> Warning: There's a same-sex relationship. There _isn't_ any same-sex sex. If that ain't your cup of tea, feel free to walk away.
> 
> Archives: Anyone that the four winds see fit, as long as you're not getting paid when I'm not.
> 
> Feedback: By all means! Anything but flames.

*****

As he slowly nibbled at his food, Harry Kim sat in the Mess Hall,  
staring out into space, watching stars race by at warp speed, lost in  
thought. Every few minutes, he paused to take a forkful of Neelix's  
special; apparently, that gave his stomach enough time to adapt, since  
the Doctor had already complained twice that evening to Neelix about  
being overrun with stomachaches. Across the room, even Tuvok was in  
obvious discomfort as his Vulcan stomach wrestled with its contents.  
Harry, however, had something on his mind more important than Neelix's  
cooking.

"Harry! Do you mind if I sit here?" asked Tom Paris, clutching a  
tray with Neelix's experiment.

"Huh?" Harry responded dreamily. "Oh! Go right ahead." He paused  
for a moment, waiting both for Tom to sit down and to gather his own  
words. "Actually, you're just the person I wanted to see. There's  
something I want to talk to you about."

"And just what might that be?" Tom prodded his food, a grimace  
crossing his face as he took a bite.

"Well, we've been friends for about four years now.... Let's be  
honest. There's something more than just friendship between us."

Tom took a deep breath. "Yeah. I noticed too," he softly  
responded, pushing away his tray.

"Back when you were chasing the Delaney sisters," Harry began as a  
smirk crossed his face, "the only thing that made me even consider  
taking up your offer was the thought of seeing you with your clothes  
off." Tom blushed a bit. "I thought about that for a long time, and  
I thought about my engagement with Libby, and I thought about my  
feelings back in the academy, and I just put two-and-two together.  
I'm not even attracted to women at all." His serious expression  
turned into a grin. "I guess I'm just a late bloomer."

Tom sat in silent surprise for a moment. Across the Mess Hall,  
Tuvok was straggling for the door, finally overpowered by his dinner.

"Wow. What can I say?" Tom sat, thinking. An evil grin crossed  
his face. "How are your parents going to react to you leaving the  
Alpha Quadrant engaged to Libby and coming back married to Tom Paris?"

Harry's eyes widened. "Don't you think it's a bit early to say  
that?" The sudden look in his eyes betrayed his thoughts. In an  
instant, his feelings had changed from platonic friendship to love.

"Maybe. But I hope I'm right." Tom reached his hand across the  
table, and Harry's hand met it. He gazed into Harry's eyes, prompting  
Harry to give his hand a soft squeeze. "I've actually given it a lot  
of thought. Why do you think I _stopped_ chasing the Delaney sisters?"

 

Meanwhile, Seven of Nine watched the scene from a few meters away.  
Even though food was a new concept to her, she had been particularly  
uninterested in tonight's dinner. Now her curiousity had completely  
distracted her. Silently, she thought to herself, _I was certain Mr._  
_Kim had amorous feelings for me. Perhaps I misjudged._ She suddenly  
blushed a bit when she remembered her attempt to explore sexual  
pleasure with him, six months ago. She was still confused by her  
awakening sexual feelings. _I will discuss it with the Captain,_ she  
decided.

Gradually, the conversation around the Mess Hall began to pick up,  
as more people noticed the new couple lost equally in conversation and  
each other. B'Elanna Torres came in and instantly noticed the pair.  
A sly smile crossed her lips. "About time," she mumbled to herself.  
She'd known this would happen the entire time she and Tom had been  
seeing each other. She began discussing a betting pool with a half-  
dozen junior officers, on how long it would be until wedding bells  
rang. _Tom's not the only gambler in the house,_ she thought to  
herself with a smile. As Tom and Harry walked out of the Mess Hall,  
hand in hand, she decided on her bet. _Two week's rations on a_  
_ceremony in the next month,_ she thought smugly.

 

As the pair entered the turbolift, the privacy made something slip,  
and Tom pressed his lips toward Harry. What began as a soft, romantic  
kiss quickly escalated into a passionate one. Harry opened his mouth  
and pressed his tongue against Tom's soft lips. Tom eagerly parted  
them, pressing his own tongue against Harry's.

"AHEM!" coughed Megan Delaney as she stepped into the turbolift.  
The pair immediately broke apart, straightening their uniforms.

"This is our deck," Harry spoke. He and Tom shuffled out of the  
lift and walked off toward Harry's nearer quarters.

Megan smirked. She was going to have fun with this. Just as the  
lift doors were closing, Megan shouted, "Harry! Be gentle with him,  
he breaks easier than you'd think!" Both turned beet-red. _I've_  
_gotta get to the Mess Hall before B'Elanna starts taking bets,_ she  
thought to herself as the lift shuttled her off.

Once inside Harry's quarters, Tom began a merciless assault on  
Harry's neck. Harry lost himself in the moment, but suddenly  
remembered what he'd meant to ask Tom.

"Tom, hold off for a minute." Tom paused. "What went on between  
you and B'Elanna?"

"Did you have to ask that _now_?" Tom implored. Harry nodded in  
response, his serious expression covering his face. "I honestly don't  
know. I didn't love B'Elanna -- not like that, anyway -- and I doubt  
she felt anything lasting toward me. Maybe it was just releasing a  
lot of old feelings we had for each other. Whatever it was, it's been  
over for a month now." He looked softly into Harry's eyes, silently  
asking for forgiveness.

A smile touched the corners of Harry's lips. The look in his eyes  
said "I forgive you" more clearly than words could. "As long as  
you're honest with me, I don't care."

Tom smiled. A thought visibly crossed his brow, and Harry knew what  
was coming. "What went on between you and _Seven_?" Tom asked.

Harry groaned softly. "I wish I knew. I guess... I felt a bit  
desparate after you and B'Elanna started seeing each other." Tom  
looked down. "But," Harry continued, even his voice smiling, "she  
hasn't tried jumping on top of me in almost six months." Tom looked  
back up, and both paused. "So...?" Harry spoke waveringly. Tom  
smiled. Harry's rare but dangerous evil grin crossed his face. "My  
turn!" he excitedly shouted, assaulting Tom's neck even more  
voraciously than Tom had his.

*****

"Computer, locate Captain Janeway," Seven ordered as she walked down  
the hallway.

"Captain Janeway is in her quarters," replied the computer.

Even though she rarely visited the Captain's quarters, she had  
memorized their location. She now briskly walked toward the  
turbolift, leaving behind the large amount of conversation about  
gambling. _One would think that I would have learned most human_  
_customs by now. I have had sufficient time._

Quickly, she found herself in front of Janeway's quarters. She  
pressed the button.

"Come in," Janeway said. As Seven entered the open door, she saw  
Janeway reading reports, with her hair completely let down to her  
shoulder. "What did you want, Seven?" Janeway asked after Seven stood  
still for several moments.

"I wanted to ask you several questions about interpersonal  
relationships."

"Go on."

"It is extremely difficult to verbalize." She frowned and paused.  
"I observed Lt. Paris and Ensign Kim in the mess hall...."

"I heard about that." The captain flashed a wide grin. "News  
travels fast on this ship. Commander Chakotay told me just a few  
minutes ago."

"I am confused. It was my understanding that the primary goal of  
an interpersonal relationship was the creation of offspring. I had  
been unaware of the possibility of two people of the same gender  
beginning a relationship."

"Seven, relationships are much more complicated about that. Most  
people focus on the emotional aspects of a relationship: love, trust,  
companionship. Having children is secondary to a relationship,  
although if a couple does have children, they become part of that  
emotional bond, an expression of it and something to be cherished."  
The captain paused. "Why are you asking me this?"

"I... had not considered the possibility that I might be sexually  
attracted to another female." Seven paused. "I have another  
question. I had believed that Ensign Kim was sexually attracted to  
me. Was I wrong? Did I misinterpret his body language?"

"I think only he can answer that."

"You are correct. I will ask him tomorrow." Seven glanced at the  
clock on Janeway's desk. "I must regenerate. I suggest you do the  
same; you need more rest than I do." Seven paused. "Thank you,  
Captain."

"You're welcome, Seven. Good night."

"To you as well."

As the doors slid shut, Seven lost herself in thought while walking  
to the turbolift. _Is that what I feel toward the Captain?_ she  
pondered. A moment later, she decided, _I do not believe so. I have_  
_emotions toward her, but I do not feel sexual tension._ She grasped  
for the words to clarify what she felt. _I feel... protected near_  
_her. Safe._ The turbolift stopped a short distance from Cargo Bay  
Two. _Perhaps clarification will come from my dream imagery._

*****

Back in her quarters, Janeway sighed. _As long as I'm not the next_  
_Ensign Kim she jumps on._ She briefly entertained the thought, but  
she knew that she'd much prefer Chakotay to jump on her. She smiled  
at that, then returned to reading reports.

*****

B'Elanna was at work in Engineering, tweaking the warp core with  
improvements taken from the slipstream technology. She'd already  
boosted efficiency by almost a full percent, amazing considering that  
Voyager's warp core had already been at 95% efficiency. _I might be_  
_able to convince the Captain to increase replicator rations with_  
_this,_ she thought, thinking back to the meal she'd eaten after taking  
bets from two dozen crew members. _Chakotay, of all people..._ she  
silently smirked. She decided to put off further tweaks until  
tomorrow. _Say goodnight to mommy,_ she amusedly said to it in her  
mind. Too many years of jokes had convinced her that it was true.

*****

_I can't believe I bet they'd be engaged in the next two weeks!_  
fretted Commander Chakotay. _Then again, the way they looked at each_  
_other.... I'll keep my bet._ Chakotay paused and frowned. _Now,_  
_what to do about Kate?_ He smiled, knowing that he was already the  
only person allowed to call her that, and even then only in private.

*****

Tom and Harry had ultimately decided to slow down a bit. Until  
tomorrow. They slept next to each other, wearing their Starfleet-  
issue boxers. Tom laid behind Harry's back, his arm draped across  
Harry's stomach. Harry's hand held it softly as both slept. Tom  
had never told anyone, but he rarely slept well; tonight, he slept  
more deeply than he had in years.


End file.
